Armchair Analyst: Three things we learned from a predictable ending down in Houston

The Montreal Impact played a dangerous game this season. They came out of the gate "hot," in that they picked up 12 points from their first four games.

But they picked them up by sitting deep, letting the opponent dictate the run of play, then hitting on the counter. It's a good tactic in March, when teams are disjointed and you can rely on bad turnovers to fuel your offense.

It's a bad tactic come summertime, when teams are sharper, better organized, and less prone to bad turnovers. Montreal, from late June onwards, went 7-13-5 across all competitions, and never really figured out how to dictate the pace of a game, or where it would be played.

They were, for all intents and purposes, a bad, directionless team – and judging by their body language, they knew it.

3. Houston's attack is better than the numbers say

It comes down to two things: Will Bruin's finishing, which – duh – was really good tonight after being really bad all season; and Boniek Garcia's ability to get into the final third and create chances.

This map of Boniek's final third touches has to be terrifying for the Red Bulls, who are next up for Houston and have all sorts of lingering injury questions at both fullback spots:

Containing the Dynamo means pushing those touches much, much wider. As close to the touchline as is possible, really.